


Stalled

by F1_rabbit



Series: Femslash February 2018 [23]
Category: Formula 1 RPF, Motorcycling RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Always a Different Sex, Alternate Universe - Space, F/F, Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-24
Updated: 2018-02-24
Packaged: 2019-03-23 10:51:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13785933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/F1_rabbit/pseuds/F1_rabbit
Summary: Dani's spent five years in space, but she's finally getting a well-earned break, that is until they pick up a distress beacon and have to go investigate...





	Stalled

Five years in space, Dani knew that it wouldn’t be easy, but it wasn’t homesickness or the boring, dried meals that got to her.

No. It was the fact that in a crew of seven, she was the only one that was single.

She knew that people would get lonely and have sex. That wasn’t surprising, but the fact that they were so affectionate and loving made her feel left out.

It didn’t help that she was already the odd one out. The science officer.

The others flew the ship, stopped them being sucked into a black hole, but she was just carrying out her experiments.

If she didn’t do her job, nothing changed. If they didn’t do their jobs, they would all die.

Their destination was a research base so that they could take on new supplies, and Dani could share her research from the darkest reaches of outer space.

And she would finally get to talk to someone.

She couldn’t count the days since she’d last talked to an actual person, rather than just her lab equipment. It would be in her logs somewhere, but she didn’t want to know.

Preparing another probe to be launched in the direction of the pulsar, Dani let out a sigh, just to hear something other than the whirr of the air being recycled around the space ship.

“Farewell my friend, bon voyage.” Dani put the probe into the airlock, watching as her creation was flung out into the vastness of space.

She yawned, and her stomach rumbled. Reaching out for the dried meals, she groped around in the box before realising it was empty, and that meant she was going to have to leave her lab.

Coffee cup in hand, she keyed in the six-digit code to open the door, overkill for a crew this small, but it was in case some alien virus got on board and she had to quarantine it.

Dani scrunched up her eyes when she saw the white-hot flame of a laser cutter, and she blinked a few times as the flame spluttered out.

“I’m sorry, but we were worried about you.” Marcia packed away the cutter, and Dani swayed as white spots danced in her vision.

“I’m fine.”

“You weren’t answering your comms.”

Dani shrugged. “It’s easier to work without interruption.”

Marcia shook her head, leading Dani in the direction of the canteen, and the smell of coffee put a smile on Dani’s face.

Everyone was sitting around, eating dinner, and Dani felt out of place.

“Did you have to cut the door open?” Jo asked, moving a seat out for her.

“No, I had to come out for food.” Dani sat down, accepting the bowl of food that was pushed in her direction. It had all the nutrients she needed, but she’d never seen anything look as unappealing as the grey mush in front of her.

“Told you she’d come out when she’s hungry.” Nicola leant back in her seat, and Paula rolled her eyes.

“You’d have been out days ago.” Paula gave Nicola a nudge, both of them staring lovingly at each other as Dani tried not to frown.

“So, what did you need to tell me?” Dani chewed slowly on her food, telling herself that she needed the nutrients.

“We have a change of plans,” Steph said, “There’s a rescue beacon coming from a transport ship, and there’s no-one else nearby to check it out.”

Dani resisted the urge to groan out loud. She’d been looking forward to seeing some other people, and now she was going to be stuck on the ship for however long it took to rescue the ship.

“Are there survivors?”

“We don’t know.” Steph tapped her fingers on the table, her nerves showing through. “It’s an automated signal, so there’s no knowing how long it has been broadcasting for.”

Silence descended on the room, Jo reaching out to hold Steph’s hand as Keva cuddled in to Marcia.

Dani wished that there was someone to comfort her right now, because there was no knowing what they would find when they got to the transport ship. And that was terrifying.

“I have to go set up the probe to send the data back to base if we’re changing course.” Dani didn’t actually have to do anything, the probe was set to automatically send its results back to base as well as the ship no matter what, but she just had to get away from all the public displays of affection.

Not that there was really anywhere private on a ship this small, even the bedroom was shared between the seven of them.

At least the lab allowed her a little bit of a peace and quiet when she needed it.

“Leave the door unlocked this time.” Marcia stuck her tongue out, and Dani looked away just as Keva was sucking on Marcia’s tongue.

Dani rolled her eyes, the sound of happy people chatting away fading as she retreated to her lab.

She listened to the rescue beacon, and she hoped that the woman with the soft voice was still alive.

***

It took over a week to get to the transport ship, and the tension in the air was so thick that Dani was starting to feel the pressure of it weighing her down.

She’d left the door to her lab open, and the others had been coming to check on her. But after a lot of grumpy one-word answers, they’d all decided just to leave her alone.

Packing up her equipment, Dani felt her stomach twist into knots. Normally exploring new things was the highlight of the job, but now, not knowing what had happened to the crew of the transport ship, her whole body was on alert, and she wouldn’t relax until she was back here.

“Dani, are you ready to go?” Nicola’s voice rang out through the comms, and Dani shoved all of her scanning devices into a case.

Rushing along the corridors, the cases banging against the doors, she got to the airlock as everyone was getting into their space suits.

“Paula, Jo. You two stay on board in case we need an emergency evacuation.” Nicola gave Paula a knowing look. The unspoken command that if there were contagious things on the ship, and there was no safe way to rescue them, they were to leave without them.

“Dani, do you have everything?”

“Yes, if there’s anything alive, human or otherwise, I’ll be able to detect them.” Dani checked that her space suit was sealed, and Nicola nodded as she put on her helmet, the rest of them following her lead.

“We’ll run the external scanners before docking our ship with theirs.” Paula compressed her lips, her eyes lingering on Nicola, and she leant in to kiss her helmet, making Nicola smile.

“I’ll see you on the other side.”

The airlock hissed shut, and after that time seemed to come to a standstill, only the pounding of her heart reassured her that time was still moving.

Metal scraped against metal, jolting them all out of their seats as Paula’s voice rang out over the speaker that was built into their space suits.

“There’s no sign of contamination or hostile life forms from the outside. Proceed with caution.”

The outer doors of the spaceship opened to reveal darkness, and Dani felt every muscle in her body tense, her eyes scanning for any sign of life.

Nothing happened.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Nicola and Steph shone their torches around the small docking area. It was empty apart from a few crates, maintenance gear for their own shuttles.

“Dani, will you be able to get the airlock open?” Nicola stood back so that she could step out of the shuttle, and Dani bounded over to the control panel, floating through the air as she got used to the lack of gravity.

Clipping her cases to her belt so they couldn’t float away, Dani got to work, peering at the buttons on the control panel.

“If there’s no power we might have to cut it open.” Dani fumbled with locks on the case, her gloves making everything awkward as she found out a screwdriver.

The screws floated off, and Dani poked at the wires, these doors always had an emergency override.

“I should be able to open it using an external power source, but if there’s no emergency power…” Dani didn’t finish her sentence, they all knew that without power, none of the things humans needed to survive would be operational.

Grabbing the battery, she hooked it up to the control panel, smiling when it lit up, but the relief was short lived.

“Ready when you are.” Dani nodded to Nicola, her heart pounding at the thought of what they were going to find inside.

“Everyone, set lasers to stun.” Nicola waited for Dani to move out the way of the door, her hands trembling as she waited for everyone to get into place.

“Opening door, now.” Dani pressed the button, the door creaking open as she held her breath.

But there was only silence.

Steph was first through the door, Keva following as Dani rushed to pack up her equipment, and she launched herself down the corridor, the glow of the torches lighting her way.

Dani scanned the atmosphere, and she breathed a sigh of relief when the results came back negative for any known viruses or pathogens.

“The place is clean, but there’s not much air.”

“It’s a transport ship, the corridors and the cargo hold don’t usually have air.” Nicola approached the end of the corridor, bouncing off the wall as she reached out for a railing and missed.

“The door is locked.” Keva prodded at it with her glove, but there were no lights on the control panel.

Whatever happened here had taken the whole system off line, and that meant the chance of finding survivors was practically zero.

Dani set to work, rushing to connect up the battery with her gloved hands, her breath misting up the visor of her helmet.

“How many more doors do you think there are?” Keva asked, and Dani shrugged, the effect lost by the padding of her spacesuit.

On a ship this size there could be literally thousands of doors, and they had no way of knowing how many they would have to open. The battery wouldn’t last that long.

Four doors later, they were standing in a wide-open space, an empty cargo hold that could fit their entire spaceship with room to spare.

“Hello?” Nicola’s voice echoed around, but there was no response.

Dani didn’t expect anyone to answer. If there were survivors, they wouldn’t be here.

The place was quiet, not even the sound of air being recycled, or the hum of electricity that all spaceships seemed to have.

“I don’t like this.” Marcia pulled herself along the edge of the cargo hold one-handed, her other hand gripped around her laser gun.

She wasn’t going to relax until they knew what had happened here.

Dani scanned the room, no sign of anything that might kill them, but no sign of survivors.

The longer they were here, the more Dani’s nerves started to fray, dreading what they might find.

“Anything?” Nicola nudged Dani, making her drop the scanner, and she tried to swim after it as it floated off. “Sorry.”

Dani was out of breath by the time she’d caught up with the scanner, floating in the middle of the cargo hold, it was beeping.

“Nicola, the scanner’s got something.” Dani cursed the lack of gravity, wriggling as she tried to get back to the side of the cargo hold.

“What is it?” Nicola reached out for Dani, Keva holding her ankles as Dani grabbed Nicola’s hand.

“There’s a faint electrical trace.” Dani rushed in the direction of the signal, her cases floating behind her like well trained dogs.

“Where’s it coming from?” Nicola’s helmet bumped against Dani’s as she tried to look at the screen, but the squiggles it was displaying meant nothing to her.

“This way.” Dani approached a door at the end of the cargo hold, and she tucked her scanner away so that she could get the door open.

It was easier now that she’d done it a few times, and thankfully the control panels seemed to be standardised, but there was another problem coming soon.

“This battery is only going to open, two, maybe three more doors before it’s out of charge.” Dani went to press the button when a hand reached out to stop her.

“Wait, I’ll check it out first.” Keva got into position, Marcia and Steph behind her as Dani opened the door.

It whooshed open, air escaping, and Dani felt a faint gravity field drawing her closer. There was still a chance that there were survivors.

But there was only more nothing, and a corridor that had at least twelve doors branching off from it.

“All clear,” Keva said, her torch shining down the corridor and casting long shadows that sent shivers down Dani’s spine.

Dani followed them, bounding along like she was walking on the moon, and she scanned for the signal, but it was too faint to say what direction it was coming from.

Turning the corner, Dani saw that the rest of the corridor had equally as many doors, and there was no way that she could open them all without going back to their ship for more batteries.

“Any idea which one of these the signal is coming from?”

Dani shook her head, the line on her screen barely moving, and she looked at all the thick, air-tight and soundproof doors surrounding her.

“Who’s got the laser cutter?” Nicola was in action mode, if there was any chance that people were still alive, they had to move fast.

“I’ve got it.” Steph tried to reach the backpack that she was wearing, but in the spacesuit it was impossible, and it took Marcia and Keva to help her out of it.

“What would be your best guess?” Nicola looked at Dani, the reflection of the torches shining off her helmet.

And then Dani caught sight of something. Grabbing her torch, she shone it at the little plate beside the door.

_Store Room 183_

The name was repeated in Spanish and Japanese, the three standard languages for interstellar travel, and it had her reaching out to stop Steph before she got the laser cutter going.

“Look for a door that says, ‘sick bay’ or ‘living quarters’. Anything that would be used as a refuge when there’s limited power.” Dani leapt along the corridor, checking each door as the others did the same.

One end of the corridor had a cluster of doors all marked with ‘cabin’ and numbered from one to thirty. The lowest numbers were usually reserved for the captain, and other high-ranking officials, and if anyone had emergency life support in their cabins it would be them.

“I think I’ve got something.” Dani prised open the control panel, hooking it up to the battery as the others got into position. “Ready?”

The door slid open, and inside was a modest bunk room, more fitting for the average crew member than a captain.

“Try number three, that’s often the captain’s room,” Nicola said, “It’s to confuse those who try and take these ships hostage.”

Dani felt her blood run cold, she hadn’t thought of that, and now it gave her something else to worry about.

She connected the battery to the control panel with trembling hands, and she hit the button as the others rushed to cover the door with their laser pistols.

The door opened two-thirds of the way, enough for them to squeeze through, but there was no sign of life.

“The battery is dead, I’ll have to go back to the ship.” Dani packed away the equipment, the battery feeling heavier now that it was dead weight.

“How long will that take?” Nicola tapped her foot, quite a feat in a spacesuit, and Dani tried to figure out how long they’d been wandering through this ship for.

“An hour, tops.”

“We’ve got the laser cutter.” Steph held it up as though it was a light sabre, and even though Dani couldn’t see her face, she was sure that Steph was smiling.

“It won’t have enough power for all these doors either.” Dani let out a low groan, and someone patted her on the back. “Unless anyone has a good idea of where the survivors might be, it would be best for us to go back to the ship, see if Paula’s received the schematics for this vessel, and come back prepared.”

“What about a BioSphere?” Steph stood staring at the door, and Dani rushed over, peering at the little name plate.

It was common for vessels on long journeys to have a BioSphere, grow their own food rather than rely on dried meals, and it was the one place that would be worth using the emergency power supply on.

“If there’s survivors, they would be with the food.” Dani stood back, shielding her eyes as the laser cutter roared into life, and it felt like time had slowed.

The sight of the door melting had sweat dripping down Dani’s back, partly from the heat, but mostly because she was dreading what might be behind the door.

She crossed her fingers, even though she didn’t believe in luck, or superstition, but it was a habit that she’d picked up from her great-grandmother.

Jumping back as the door fell to the ground with a loud metallic clang, Dani held up the scanner, staring at it as the others tiptoed towards what looked like an airlock door.

The gravity was stronger here, not quite full Earth gravity, but close, and Dani’s legs trembled as she walked along the corridor. She wished that she’d kept some battery charge, but as she stepped closer she saw that the control panel for the airlock was lit up.

“Can you override it?” Nicola’s normally calm voice had a clipped edge to it, her nerves showing, and Dani could feel the tension growing.

“Easy.” Dani knelt down next to the panel, glad that she’d put her trusty screwdriver in her pocket rather than packing it away, and it didn’t take her long to have the wires exposed.

She held her breath as she nodded to say she was ready, Keva and Marcia in place so that they could deal with whatever came bursting out through the door.

Dani joined the two wires, and the airlock door hissed open, revealing an empty space big enough to hold at least ten people in spacesuits.

Nicola it out before stepping back. “Dani, you and Steph go first.”

“Gee, thanks.” Dani lugged her cases into the airlock, Steph leaving the laser cutter with Marcia, and Dani tried not to think about all the things that could be waiting for them on the other side of the door.

“We’ll follow once you’ve given the all clear.”

“Okay.” Dani pulled Nicola closer, so that she could see the wires for the control panel. “See the blue and the red ones? Touch those two together and it’ll close the door.”

“I think I can manage that.” Nicola pushed Dani in the direction of the airlock, and Dani felt her heart pound as they waited for the other door to open.

Her mind was her own worst enemy. Flashing up in terrifying detail, she pictured ravenous flesh-eating aliens, a strange green mist that would melt their spacesuits, and the decaying remains of the crew. None of which she’d ever seen in all her years in space, but movies were fuelling her overactive imagination.

“It’s all going to be fine,” Steph said, a hint of excitement in her voice. Clearly Dani wasn’t the only one who had been bored stuck on a research ship.

A sterilising mist rushed around them, blasting them clean as Dani felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.

She held her breath as the door slid open, the mist clearing as Steph stepped out, and Dani’s mouth hung open.

It looked like paradise. Lush trees and beautiful flowers for as far as the eye could see, and Dani fumbled with the scanner, waiting for its results.

“The air is breathable, and there’s no sign of any pathogens.”

“Confirmed, we’re on our way.” Nicola’s voice crackled out, and Dani released the catch for her helmet.

She’d forgotten how alive fresh air was, the delicate scents of the flowers wafting around, and a hint of earth that made her want to strip naked and roll around in the dirt.

And then something moved in the distance.

Dani froze as Steph reached for her gun, and Dani hoped that whatever it was could be subdued with the laser set to stun.

A woman darted out from behind a tree, dressed in flip-flops and cut-off jeans so short the pockets were hanging out the bottom of them.

“Hi, I’m Captain Marquez. Marci.” She grinned, her eyes wide as she looked around. “Sorry, it’s been so long since I’ve spoken to anyone.”

Before Dani could get a word out Marci laughed, startling them both.

Her laugh was like a chainsaw starting up, and she crumpled in laughter, clutching her sides as Dani tried not to stare at the soft curve of her breast that was poking out of her vest top.

The airlock hissed open again, and Dani was glad for the distraction, her cheeks pink as Nicola and the others wandered out, all of them sighing in relief as they took off their helmets.

“We’ve got one survivor,” Steph said, pointing in the direction of Marci. “Captain Marquez.”

“Nice to meet you,” Nicola marched over, a smile on her face that was only ten percent sincere, but they still didn’t know what had happened here. “Where’s the rest of your crew?”

“Follow me.” Marci’s grin looked manic, and Dani glanced at Nicola, the frown lines on her forehead broadcasting her worries.

Steph’s hand was resting on her laser pistol, and she wasn’t the only one, the tension rising as they wandered through the BioSphere.

There was a room at the back, and Nicola looked over her shoulder, shooting them all a glance that said, ‘get ready for trouble’.

“Meet my crew.” Marci pointed in the door, and Dani peered round, freezing when she saw a stack of bodies, and she stumbled backwards, landing on her bum as Marci laughed.

Nicola rushed over to help her up, the others all hovering in case there was trouble, and that was when Dani saw it.

A body laid out on the table, their back cut open, and wires trailing out of them.

“They’re robots?” Dani couldn’t face standing up in the spacesuit, so she sat on the floor, waving her scanner in the direction of the door.

“Yes, although they prefer to be called androids.” Marci laughed again, bouncing on the spot as she bit at her lip.

“Where’s the rest of your human crew?” Dani was starting to doubt Marci’s sanity, and she watched as Keva and Steph checked out the room filled with androids.

“It was always just me.” Marci stopped smiling for a second, and Dani felt a shiver run down her spine. “At first it was a crew of six that did trips like this, and then it was a crew of three, and now… it’s a one-person job. To save money.”

“How long have you been out here?”

“Three years, and I’ve spent the last five months with nothing more than emergency power after we went through an electrical storm.”

Dani couldn’t imagine spending all that time alone, even with her general dislike for people.

Marci helped Dani to her feet, her excitement bursting out through a series of nervous ticks, and Dani wriggled out of her spacesuit before following Marci into the storage shed.

The androids looked so uncanny, and Dani could have sworn that she saw one blink, but it had to be a trick of the light.

“I’ve been trying to repair her for months, there’s no way I could get the rest of the ship back online without help, but there’s no knowing what’s been fried.” Marci tugged at a couple of the wires, and Dani looked in, she’d never got to see an android up close.

“Is this the least damaged android?”

“I don’t know, but Dani was my favourite, so I wanted to fix her first.”

“We have a robot called Dani too.” Nicola gave Dani a nudge, and Marci rushed round the workbench to look at her.

“Wow, you’re so realistic. Who made you?” Marci’s hands were like fire against her icy skin, and the irritation she felt at Nicola’s joke was pushed out of her mind by how soft Marci’s hands were.

“They were joking. I’m human.” Dani blushed, hanging her head as the others explored the rest of the area.

“Oh.” Marci looked like she was about to laugh, inhaling deeply, and only Dani’s stare stopped it from bubbling over. “Sorry.”

Nicola stepped away, and in the distance, Dani could hear her reporting back to Paula.

“Nicola thinks she’s funny.” Dani rolled her eyes and Marci smiled, making her lips flicker up at the corners. “I think I should be able to fix your friend.”

“Thank you, I’ve been lonely without her.”

Dani reached out to rest her hand on top of Marci’s, stroking the side of it with her thumb, but they both jumped when Keva burst in.

“There’s apples, actual real apples that grew on a tree.” Keva threw one to Dani, and she rushed to catch it as though it was a precious artefact.

“We’ve had dried meals for nearly five years and I was starting to think that I would never taste real food again.” Dani licked her lips as she stared at the apple, its red skin so shiny and her mouth watered at the thought of its juicy flesh.

She took a bite, savouring the sweetness as she chewed, and the noises she made were nothing short of pornographic.

“I’ve missed this so much.” Dani devoured the rest of the apple, until she was holding nothing but a stalk, the seeds worth eating just so that she could get every last morsel of the sweet and juicy apple.

Marci wiped away a dribble of juice with her thumb, and Dani felt her lips tingle, her cheeks flushed as she composed herself.

“You and your friends are welcome to take whatever food you want, I have way more than I could ever use.”

“Thank you.”

“Sorry to interrupt.” Nicola stuck her head round the door as Dani jumped back, and she smiled as though she had just won a bet. “It’s going to be three weeks before the vessel big enough to tow this can get here, so if we can get this ship started by ourselves it’ll be the quickest way.”

“The fuel cells are in the hold, I know basic maintenance, but I’ve no idea if they’re able to be repaired.” Marci fidgeted, and Dani wanted to reach out and comfort her, but she had no idea if she would appreciate that.

“Dani’s our resident science girl, so she’ll help you out.” Nicola winked at her, and Dani blushed, staring at the floor so that Marci didn’t notice.

“The atmosphere is thin out there, so it would be safer if we went in the suits.” Dani hurried out, awkwardly grabbing her suit and her cases filled with equipment but it was more than she could easily carry under full gravity.

“Let me help you.” Marci took the cases out of her hand, jogging to keep up with Dani and her long legs, and Dani slowed so that she could walk comfortably.

“Sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Marci’s smile was kind, and Dani felt herself relax, an inner calmness radiating out.

In another life they could have been strolling through a park, enjoying the sunset, and Dani marvelled at the fact that the lights had been designed to mimic the phases of the sun on Earth.

She was so used to the unnatural white lights of the spaceship that she’d almost forgotten how beautiful the shimmering oranges and pinks were.

They walked in silence, and Dani tried not to stare at Marci, her tanned skin glowing in the soft light.

Dani felt disappointed when they reached the airlock, and she helped Marci into her suit before shuffling awkwardly into her own, the sweat inside already smelling stale compared to the fresh air of the garden.

She slung the rucksack with the laser cutter on her back, Marci grabbing the two cases of equipment, and they stumbled into the airlock. Marci was still fidgeting on the spot, even though she had to be wearing her own weight, but her nervous energy seemed to be all that was keeping her going.

“Nicola, that’s us leaving, radio if anything changes.”

“Will do.”

The hiss of the airlock made Marci jump, and Dani rested her hand on her shoulder, waiting for the roar of the air to quiet down before trying to talk.

Marci stepped out into the corridor, the change in gravity making her stumble, and Dani grabbed at the backpack to keep her upright. “Your crew seems nice.”

Dani let out a groan, but she felt guilty about it. “They are nice, but they’re also all dating each other and being on a ship with three couples is just… Ugh.”

Marci laughed, the spacesuit doing little to muffle the sound of it, and Dani shook her head, snorting in laugher as Marci gave her a nudge.

“I miss having people around.” Marci sounded younger when she said that, like a lost child, although if she’d been out here three years, she had to be at least the same age as her.

“How did you end up out here?” Dani paused at a viewing window, the vastness of space staring back at her, and Marci fidgeted with her wrist, as though she usually wore a bracelet there.

“My baby brother, he’s smart, and university isn’t cheap, so… here I am.” Marci sounded so proud of him, and she could hear the smile on her face. “You?”

“I always wanted to see outer space. When I was little I dreamt of being an astronaut, and I joined the second I turned eighteen.”

“It is a breath-taking view.”

Dani nodded, watching the stars dance in front of her eyes, and she felt so grateful to have experienced what her ancestors could only have imagined.

The radio in her helmet crackled, warning her of the incoming message. “How’s it going?”

“We’re going to have to use the emergency tunnels to get down to the fuel cells,” Marci said, and Nicola made a little noise in agreement. “We’ll check in again once we’re down there.”

“Lead the way.” Dani smiled as Marci bounded down the corridors, the lower gravity suiting her, and she almost missed the hatch, reaching out at the last second to grab on to the release wheel.

It took both of them to get the hatch open, the metal creaking as the cogs grated, and Dani could tell that it hadn’t been used in a long while.

She shone her torch down, and she flinched when she couldn’t see the bottom.

“You first.” Dani gave Marci a playful nudge, and Marci switched her headlight on, blinding Dani for a second as she hopped into the hatch.

The ladder seemed never ending, and Dani was starting to fear that they would never reach the bottom when she kicked Marci in the head.

“Sorry.” Dani jumped down, landing with a gentle bump thanks to the lower gravity.

“That’s us here, hopefully we can get it working so we don’t have to climb back up.”

“I hope so.” Dani sighed, she wasn’t sure that she’d have the energy to manage the return journey.

“The quicker we get started the quicker we can get it done.” Marci reached out for her hand, pulling her through the hatch as Dani felt the cases catch, and she unclipped them so that she could wriggle through.

Gravity was strange here, distorted towards the fuel cells, and Dani knew that the technology was well out of her league.

With access to the mainframe, maybe she could have fixed it, but out here in the depths of space, the connection wasn’t fast enough to make the information stored on the mainframe any use.

“Normally the computer controls all of this.” Marci poked at the cube in the middle of the room, it was shielded with thick metal, and it towered over them. The flat sides didn’t help Dani gauge the height, and as she stepped closer she saw the thick cables trailing out of it.

“I have a feeling that there’s no start button.” Dani looked around for a control panel, or even some indication of where the cables were going, but they snaked their way out of every corner of the room.

There was no electrical hum, and Dani scanned the room, but apart from the faint magnetic field, there was no power coming from anything but them.

“Do you know if there’s any way to open this cube?” Dani ran her torch over the seams, but it was smooth all over, no hatches or panels for access.

“I’ve only ever been down here once, and that was when it was still docked outside Mars.”

“Was there anything different then?” Dani wandered round the cube, checking all the sides, but there was nothing useful looking.

“It made a sound, you know, a hum.” Marcia purred, a sound like a rolled r, and Dani recognised it, but that didn’t help her switch it on.

“I’m going to see if there’s a hatch on the top.” Dani handed the cases to Marci before clipping the torch to her belt.

The cube was pulling her closer, and she used that to try and climb on top of it, the magnets in the shoes of her spacesuit helping her shuffle up, but the top was as flat as the rest of the cube.

“Is there anything up there?”

“No.” Dani slid off the edge, the strange gravity catching her before she hit the ground, and even though the helmet, she could see Marci’s disappointment. “These were never designed to be stopped, they just run forever.”

The batteries on her ship were solar powered, but that was no use for long-distance transporters, no guarantee that they would be anywhere near a star to charge them.

“They start them with a spark, like creating a tiny big bang, but how do you recreate that?” Marci tapped at the metal cube, and Dani could tell that they were both thinking the same thing.

There wasn’t enough power anywhere on either of the ships to get the battery started again.

Marci slumped down against the side of the cube, and Dani went to sit next to her, resting her hand on her knee, even though it was little more than a gesture because of the spacesuits.

“I don’t want to spend three more weeks here alone.”

“We’ll figure something out.” Dani put her arm around Marci, even with her long arms, the bulky spacesuits meant that she could barely pat her on the shoulder.

“Thank you.”

It took them over an hour to climb back up, and by the time they were back in the BioSphere, Dani felt like she had run a marathon, twice.

“Any luck with the engines?” Nicola threw a banana at her, and Dani dropped it, her arms felt like someone else was controlling them.

Slumping to the ground, Dani luxuriated in the feeling of soft grass, the smell transporting her back to when she was a child, rolling down hills without a care in the world.

Dani didn’t speak until she’d finished the banana, and Marci came to sit next to her, yawning as she stretched out.

“They’re hydrogen fuel cells that have either run out of fuel, which is unlikely, or the electrical storm has somehow shorted them.”

“Can we restart them?” Nicola’s strained smile said she already knew the answer. If they’d got them working they’d have heard the low hum of the engine.

Dani hung her head, the hollow feeling growing as she looked over at Marci, her eyelids drooping as she drifted off to sleep.

“We can’t leave her here alone.”

“Leave it with me.” Nicola brushed a stray strand of hair behind Dani’s ear. “You should get some rest.”

Dani curled up on the grass, Marci’s hand reaching out for hers, and she dozed off with a smile on her face.

She woke to the feeling of Marci’s warm skin pressed against her own, her long dark hair tickling her nose, and Dani had to admit that it felt so good.

The quietness made Dani’s eyes fly open, it was a little too quiet, and once she’d blinked the world into focus, she saw why.

Everyone was asleep, the calmness of nature surrounding them, and she cuddled in closer to Marci without thinking, a blush on her cheeks when Marci opened her eyes.

Marci yawned, her warm brown eyes darting around as she woke up, and she pulled back from Dani, leaving her feeling confused.

“I’m sorry, I just miss hugs.” Marci’s breath was warm against her cheek, and Dani ran her fingers through her hair, delighting in the way that Marci’s mouth hung open.

“It’s okay, I know what you mean.” Dani couldn’t remember the last time someone had hugged her, although she’d been chasing people out of her lab for months now, so it was her own fault that she’d been alone.

She pulled Marci closer, both gazing into each other’s eyes, and even though she’d only known Marci a day, she could feel the sparks between them. Marci’s smile had the power to warm her soul, and she leant in closer, both of them grinning as their lips met. Dani gasped, Marci’s lips like fire against her own, and she felt warm hands sliding inside her t-shirt, exploring every inch of free skin.

Someone coughed, and Dani knew that it would be Keva without even opening her eyes. “Morning.”

Dani gave Marci one last kiss, pay back for all the times that she’d had to watch Keva and Marcia making out, and the feeling of Marci’s smile pressed against her own made her heart flutter with happiness.

Keva waited until they came up for air before sitting down, offering them both fruit. “Having fun?”

Dani wanted to say something sarcastic, but she didn’t want to spoil the mood, so she simply smiled, wrapping her arms around Marci as she ate.

A butterfly fluttered past, landing on an apple tree that was in full blossom, and Dani found herself wishing that she could stay here forever. Or at least until someone came to take Marci and her ship home.

The airlock hissed open, and Dani’s eyes went wide, panic coursing through her veins, and it wasn’t until Steph went over to say hi that she relaxed.

Jo and Paula stripped off their spacesuits, leaving them hanging by the airlock as Steph waited for Jo to unload the cases.

“Thanks for leaving us to tether the ship all by ourselves.” Jo gave Steph a playful nudge before leaning in for a kiss, tongues squirming like tentacles as Paula coughed.

“What are you two doing here?” Dani didn’t want to go, she couldn’t bear to leave Marci, and yet if she didn’t leave with her crew, the company would terminate her contract.

Dani reached out for Marci’s hand, gripping it tight as Paula opened one of the cases that she’d brought in with her.

“We’re all due a holiday, and this place is way fancier than the spaceport orbiting Uranus.” Paula threw Nicola a long wooden box, about the size of a torch, and it wasn’t until she opened it that Dani made sense of the lines etched on the outside.

Tartan.

“Where did you hide this?” Nicola stared at the bottle, the amber liquid reflecting the warm yellows of the early morning sun.

“Somewhere Keva couldn’t reach.” Paula laughed, as Keva pouted, but they all knew it was true. No alcohol was safe around her.

Nicola ran her fingers over the bottle as though she was caressing it, and she wiggled the stopper out, the smell of warm spices wafting over as Nicola poured it into eight glasses. “To new friends.”

Dani blushed when she looked at Marci, their fingers intertwined as they sat out on the lush grass, surrounded by a tiny slice of paradise.

“New friends.”

**Author's Note:**

> *and obviously none of this actually happened, it is all a figment of my twisted imagination ;)


End file.
